Birth of rare redhead at Chicago-area zoo spawns orangutan awareness

An endangered species now numbers one stronger with Brookfield Zoo’s latest red-headed addition, and the zoo is taking a week to celebrate.

Janice Hoppe

An endangered species now numbers one stronger with Brookfield Zoo’s latest red-headed addition, and the zoo is taking a week to celebrate.

The Chicago Zoological Society will celebrate Orangutan Awareness Week from Nov. 10 to 16, and on Nov. 15 and 16 there will be activities for children and a display featuring orangutan handprints and information on their diets. Zoo Chats, an informal presentation, will be given at 1 p.m. on both days in front of the orangutan exhibit about the animals and the infant, who is the second and final birth expected of all orangutans in an accredited North American zoo this year. The first orangutan born this year was in August at Lowry Park Zoo in Florida, according to Sondra Katzen, spokesperson for Brookfield Zoo.

On Oct. 6, a night keeper found the infant female orangutan while the mother, Sophia, 27, was in her bedroom in the back of Tropic World, said lead keeper Nava Greenblatt.

“When he found her she was still wet, but everything looked good,” Greenblatt said.

The Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo, is a participant in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Orangutan Species Survival Plan. Katzen said the plan manages the breeding of orangutans in zoos to maintain a healthy, self-sustaining population.

The gestation period for orangutans is about eight and a half months, so the infant was born when keepers expected.

Since keepers will not attempt to remove the infant orangutan from her mother, they assume she weighs around 4 to 5 pounds.

“She will be attached to her mother and never leave her side until she wants to explore the environment on her own,” Greenblatt said. “She will stay very close.”

An infant may nurse from its mother for up to five years, and stay close until it reaches eight years. Zoo patrons will see the new orangutan nursing and most likely sleeping for long periods of time, Greenblatt said.

In the wild, orangutans live in trees in Southeast Asia and rarely come to the ground. The word orangutan is derived from a Malay phrase meaning person of the forest. The coloring of the primates ranges from a reddish-orange to maroon. Orangutans have long arms that can span almost seven feet, which helps them live in the trees. Adult males can weigh up to 300 pounds and females can weigh up to 125 pounds, according to Katzen.

At the zoo, along with Sophia’s group, are two other groups of orangutans that must rotate their time out in the exhibit so the infant can only be seen on select dates and times. Once Sophia’s group is brought back to their bedrooms, a new group is allowed to come out and be seen by patrons.

“We have three groups because there is a male in each group,” Greenblatt said. “They would fight if they were put together.”

The infant has not yet been named, and Katzen said she does not have a specific date as to when it will be chosen.